Results 21-40 of 7,125 for speaker:James Lawless
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: Some students in further education courses would have been in receipt of social welfare payments and there is a tradition they get a Christmas bonus and have their money doubled coming into Christmas week. It is very fair and charitable to do that. My Department takes that on in terms of the students who are welfare recipients within the course provisions. In effect, we pay the Christmas...
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: For the students in further education, it comes out of the-----
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: No, the NTF funding is capital funding while this is current funding. Also, this is honouring pay deals that were entered into mid-year. The Building Momentum pay deal is one where industrial relations mechanisms were invoked and an agreement was reached with unions and employers. That has been given effect in this Estimate to ensure we can honour that and pay the additional pensions...
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: It is a lot larger than €111 million. The sum of €111 million is a supplementary for this year to a large degree. When we look at the Estimates for next year, there is a huge number for pay and pensions across the sector, as would be normal in every Government Department, and this is incremental additional moneys to honour the likes of those pay deals during the course of the year.
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: I will just get that information for the Deputy now.
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: Graduate medicine absolutely but the focus is on rural medicine which is really innovative. I have seen the challenge in meeting the provision of rural GPs myself. The two courses in Galway, namely, pharmacy and graduate medicine with a focus on rural medicine, are very welcome. Also there will be 35 places in dentistry. I visited the RCSI recently and saw first-hand the new equipment and...
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: It depends what they are. The graduate places are somewhat different but the rest of them would be assessed through the CAO. There are also additional veterinary places as well - 80 of them - in both Atlantic Technological University, ATU, and South East Technological University, SETU. I mentioned the 151 new pharmacy places and the new medical programme. There are a number of places.
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: I am sure it can do that. I am taking parliamentary questions on 2 and 3 December if the Deputy wishes to submit a parliamentary question on the issue. I will get that information to the Deputy either way. I will make sure the Deputy gets it. Parliamentary questions might be an efficient way to organise it. We can certainly do that.
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: Some of them have already started. Nursing in Maynooth started in September. I launched the programme and it is already up and running. Those places were not through the CAO because they came on stream in mid-summer and the CAO process had already started. We launched the new course ahead of time. There are a couple like that but the majority will be up and running for 20 September 2026.
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: It is for the 2025-26 academic year.
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: Is this in regard to the increase in grant thresholds?
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: The grant thresholds increased to €115,000 this year and they will increase to €120,000 next year. The student contribution fee discount is effective immediately and that is applied through a Supplementary Estimate here. That comes into effect. For students paying in instalments, they get the benefit of it in the second instalment, that is, the January instalment, probably....
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: The €111 million is arrived at across two heads, one consisting of €66.1 million and the other a further €39.7 million. The €66.1 million concerns public sector pay costs from the Building Momentum pay deal as well as the public-only consultant contracts in the higher education sector because we have a number of medics, etc., involved in the universities. Some of...
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: Pacta sunt servanda. You pay your debts.
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: It was a pay deal that was entered into, so it is critical that we see it-----
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: That is true. Deputy Kenny is a union man. He should speak to the unions.
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: I know. I am only joking.
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: I understand.
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: The threshold for full fee support is a household income of approximately €65,000. Under budget 2026, a household income of up to €120,000 is eligible for fee support. For example, that includes a household with an annual income of €119,000. If there are two people in a family, with one earning €60,000 and the other €59,000, or alternatively a solo earner...
- Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (19 Nov 2025) James Lawless: Yes.